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SBC Named One of Top 25 Companies by Working Women

SBC Named One of Top 25 Companies by Working Women

Published 12-12-00

Submitted by SBC Communications Inc.

For the second consecutive year, Working Woman magazine has named SBC Communications Inc. one of the country's Top 25 Companies for Executive Women. The magazine's annual ranking, published in the December/January 2000 issue released today, recognizes companies that advance opportunities for women. SBC ranks number one among telecommunications companies and 13th overall. This represents a move of four steps up the ladder over SBC's 17th-place ranking last year. Magazine editors cited SBC as having more women on its board of directors than any other Top 25 company.

"We are proud of SBC's long-standing efforts to promote, advance and recognize women in the workplace, marketplace and communities we serve," said Edward E. Whitacre, chief executive officer of SBC Communications Inc. "Our strong active commitment to women in the workplace as well as in the communities where we live and operate not only makes SBC more responsive to our employees and customers, but it also helps prepare us for leadership in the global marketplace of the future."

To compile the ranking, Working Woman surveyed Fortune 1000 companies to identify those with at least two women on their board of directors. Ranking were then based on statistics of women in management and their earnings, as well as innovation in structuring women's programs and results. The magazine examined the depth, breadth and innovation of each company's initiatives to advance women, as well as how the company's culture encourages and supports female employees.

"Talking the talk doesn't land a company on the annual Top 25 Companies," says Working Woman Features Editor Lisa Lee Freeman. "The 'Top 25' is a numbers game; it's about how many women are advancing through a company's management ranks all the way up to the executive suite."

SBC's workforce is comprised of 50 percent women. Women make up 47 percent of managers and 25 percent of senior corporate officers. Women also make up 27 percent of the company's board of directors, more than any other Top 25 company. SBC sponsors many initiatives designed to help women advance, including a professional women's employee organization, the SBC Center for Learning, a leadership development program, a tuition aid policy and other professional development programs.

In addition to its leadership in hiring and promoting women, SBC has championed the advancement of women and women's issues in the communities it serves. For example, with a $10 million donation, the SBC Foundation led the way in funding of The Women's Museum: An Institute for the Future, which recently opened in Dallas. The museum is the world's first major museum dedicated to honoring and celebrating women's achievements. And, over the past five years, the SBC Foundation has contributed some $6 million to other organizations that support women's issues in SBC's operating territories.

In addition to the ranking, Working Woman editors also took a look at "the women behind the numbers, particularly those who've made it to the top of the Top 25," which included an in-depth interview with SBC Senior Executive Vice President-Human Resources Karen Jennings. The profile quotes Jennings, a 28-year veteran of the company, as saying, "SBC has been at the forefront of putting women in key positions. Women are not just stuck in staff jobs. They have chances to run businesses at the company."

SBC has received a number of important awards and honors in addition to the "Top 25" ranking. Last month, Worth magazine named SBC one of America's most generous companies, ranking sixth overall out of more than 300 Fortune 500 companies surveyed. Also within the past year, SBC was named the best company for Latinas to work for by Latina Style magazine, and one of America's top corporations for women-owned business enterprises by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council.

SBC Communications Inc.

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